Radiocarbon Dating the Gnostics after Nicaea - Atheist Nexus2015-03-31T20:46:11Zhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/forum/topics/radiocarbon-dating-the?commentId=2182797%3AComment%3A1070584&xg_source=activity&feed=yes&xn_auth=noAFAIK the C14 tests measure h…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2011-01-10:2182797:Comment:10755412011-01-10T00:16:49.096ZKookaburra Jackhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/KookaburraJack
<p>AFAIK the C14 tests measure how many years ago the papyrus plant was last living - when it was harvested and removed from the land of the living papyri plants. The process of making paper from papyri does take some time, and since papyrus in the climate of Egypt was very stable, it could have sat on a shelf for some time. So this extra period would not have the effect of pushing the date back further but in fact make the date of the scribal work and codex manufacture a "later date" in the…</p>
<p>AFAIK the C14 tests measure how many years ago the papyrus plant was last living - when it was harvested and removed from the land of the living papyri plants. The process of making paper from papyri does take some time, and since papyrus in the climate of Egypt was very stable, it could have sat on a shelf for some time. So this extra period would not have the effect of pushing the date back further but in fact make the date of the scribal work and codex manufacture a "later date" in the 4th century than the C14 result itself.</p>
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<p>At the moment, the mainstream paradigm is that the texts of the Gnostics were authored in the 2nd and 3rd and 4th centuries before Nicaea, as well as some that were authored after Nicaea in the 4th century.</p>
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<p>What the C14 results are suggesting to me is that this mainstream idea is erroneous, and that the Gnostics were in fact from the generation that personally witnessed the fascist implementation of the "Roman Christian State Religion" in Alexandria under Constantine c.324/325 CE. Impelled by the new religious revolution, the remnant Alexandrian Greek literate academics, authored their own stories by mimicking and parodying and satirizing the divine characters recently published in Greek lavishly by "Pontifex Maximus Constantine" as the Bible.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">“… <b>the sacred matters of inspired teaching</b></font></font></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">were exposed to the most shameful ridicule</font></font></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><i>in the very theaters of the unbelievers.</i>”</font></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><b>[</b>Eusebius, “<i>Life of</i> <i>Constantine</i>”<b>,</b> Ch. LXI,</font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">How Controversies originated at Alexandria</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">through Matters relating to Arius.]</font></p>
<p> </p> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2011-01-04:2182797:Comment:10705842011-01-04T03:29:20.187ZSusan Stankohttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/SusanStanko
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus</a> Interesting. What is "papryu…tag:www.atheistnexus.org,2011-01-04:2182797:Comment:10705362011-01-04T02:21:16.762ZLarryLhttp://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/LarryL
<p>Interesting. What is "papryus" made of? Is it from trees as paper is from today? Or some other plant material? If it was trees, wouldn't that even push the date back further due to the time necessary for the tree to reach maturity? </p>
<p>Interesting. What is "papryus" made of? Is it from trees as paper is from today? Or some other plant material? If it was trees, wouldn't that even push the date back further due to the time necessary for the tree to reach maturity? </p>